Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Cincinnati Zoo History

ZooBinh

ZooBinh

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
5+ year member
So, I thought this would be nice to share questions about the zoo’s history, so everyone could learn more history. Here are some questions I have.


  1. Can I have some information on the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys they had?
  2. What happened to Lorikeet Landing?
  3. Can I have info on Wildlife Canyon and species it had?
 
1. Others can tell you about the Snub-nosed monkeys more in depth but what I can tell you is that they were exhibited in the current Komodo dragon area. (At least I was told).
2. To start from the beginning - The Lorikeet Landing flight cage opened back in 1962 as the Walk-through Flight Cage. Its structure was basically how you see you it standing today. It contained various tropical birds from all over the world. In 2006, during the Children's Zoo's transformation into a temporary Australia exhibit, the flight cage was then dedicated to lorikeets. Creating Lorikeet Landing. In 2014, the zoo took every single lorikeet off display and replaced them with the world's largest collection of Keas outside of their native range. That's how it currently remains.
3. The Wildlife Canyon area dates back to 1878, three years after the zoo opened. It was known as the Virginia deer park - two large habitats for two species: White-tailed deer and Elk. Since then, the area has been dedicated to hoofstock, mainly pertaining to lesser known species. As part of the WPA, the area was transformed in the early 1940's to what was called the Deer Line. It is basically the same structure you see today and some remnants of it wereeft behind. It displayed: Llama, guanaco, fallow deer, elk, Axis deer, Red deer, bison, Sambar, Yak, and more throughout time. In 1989, exhibits were combined and Wildlife Canyon was established. There was: Mhorr gazelle, Babirusa, Zebra Duiker, lowland anoa, red river hogs, Takin (current), Bactrian camels (current), and of course, the Sumatran rhinos. From then on, only a few newer species came and gone. In the mid 2000's, there were also Scimitar horned Oryxes, Slender-horned gazelles, and a Bennett's wallaby. Today you'd find an Emu, Bactrian camels, Sichuan Takin, Przewalski's horse, Visayan Warty pig, Crested Screamers and Capybaras.

If people wanted to learn more about the zoo's history, I'd be gladly to guide them to this link: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden - Chronology of the History of the Cincinnati Zoo
 
Moebelle said:
From what I was told, nearly every single one of them became fatally ill.
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That’s so sad:(.


Didnt the zoo have an Australia section back in the 2000s? And have Bharals in Monkey Island a while back, and didn’t they used to have walruses?
 
ZooBinh said:
That’s so sad:(.


Didnt the zoo have an Australia section back in the 2000s? And have Bharals in Monkey Island a while back, and didn’t they used to have walruses?
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I don't ever recall the zoo having a permanent Australia attraction at any point in its history. Only the Children's Zoo was dedicated to Australian animals for the summer of 2006. In the early 2000's and I can imagine far beyond that, yes, there were Bharials living with their Japanese macaques. As did a sea lion in the mid-80's. The zoo displayed walruses from 1987 to 2002. Their home was the current sea lion exhibit.
 
Moebelle said:
I don't ever recall the zoo having a permanent Australia attraction at any point in its history. Only the Children's Zoo was dedicated to Australian animals for the summer of 2006. In the early 2000's and I can imagine far beyond that, yes, there were Bharials living with their Japanese macaques. As did a sea lion in the mid-80's. The zoo displayed walruses from 1987 to 2002. Their home was the current sea lion exhibit.
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Oh, so the Childrens Zoo had Australian animals. What was the African Veldt?
 
ZooBinh said:
Oh, so the Childrens Zoo had Australian animals. What was the African Veldt?
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Here's how it was transformed. The structure was basically how you see it today, with the exception of a couple exhibits missing, and the nursery actually had walls in front of the glass - so you could see the animals without glare. The African penguin exhibit contained a Cape barren goose, which can now be found with the Keas. The little penguins of course stayed. The nursery exhibited Koalas. In there, there was a small tank for Stonefish. The armadillo exhibit you see today was used for ambassadors only. It was filled with a series of branches to allow an animal to perch on them while guests could get really close during presentations. Typically presented would be a Prehensile-tailed porcupine. For the Australia theme, a Major Mitchell's cockatoo took its place. The mongoose lemurs were replaced by a kookaburra. The petting zoo contained Emus - I believe they actually had chicks. The barnyard had the largest transformation. The main fences were torn down and it was turned into a walkthrough Kangaroo/Wallaby exhibit. Sadly, this only last for a few months. Some animals stayed, and some original members left. It is a miracle to me that I can remember all this.

The name of the African Veldt lasted from 1935 to 1997. Its literally how you see Rhino Reserve today minus a few added walls for more exhibits. Today's Indian rhino, okapi, bongo, flamingo, zebra, and first black rhino exhibits were all combined to make one large yard for African animals. There were cranes, zebras, ostriches, Elands, and more. The larger black rhino area first contained Dromedary camels, and was later the main home for their hippos.
 
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Gosh, zoos change a lot. Does anyone have information on what the aquarium contained? Maybe a species list?
And also @Zooplantman, some of those sites are blocked on my school iPad :(
 
ZooBinh said:
Gosh, zoos change a lot. Does anyone have information on what the aquarium contained? Maybe a species list?
And also @Zooplantman, some of those sites are blocked on my school iPad :(
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Like pretty much all of their older former attractions, in depth online information of the aquarium can't be found anywhere. The only thing you can find on it is that link Zooplantman gave you.
 
Hey @Moebelle, have you been to the zoo when it was at a different stage, like, the late 90s to early 2000s. How different was it?
 
In fact I worked there in the 80s and early 90s. It was very different in many ways. The lay-out has changed a bit (paths came and paths went), the main parking lot disappeared and became Africa. The original entrance was re-invented, the Bird House was gutted and has been re-done, the Aquarium was gutted and been re-done, the Botanical Center came and is gone, there were fewer flower beds, the animal collection was perhaps more exotic... a great many changes. There have been two Directors since then (although the present Director was there at that time in a different role)
 
ZooBinh said:
Hey @Moebelle, have you been to the zoo when it was at a different stage, like, the late 90s to early 2000s. How different was it?
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I was too young to remember nearly anything from that time period - so I'll just tell you the major differences based on what I know from its history.
In no particular order:
1. Until 2000, The Elephant House. was still in its Herbivora House form. A series of paddocks on one side (the current cow side), and one larger elephant exhibit on the other (Sabu's current area). At that time it still displayed rhinos, giraffes, hippos, and more.
2. Eagle Eyrie's main focus was Bald eagles, even though they can no longer be found in that attraction.
3. A Pheasant aviary was in place of today's Discovery Center.
4. Night Hunters was the Cat House - which used to have outdoor cages.
5. Cat Canyon was known as the Cat Grottoes (Later named Tiger Canyon). It displayed white and Malayan tigers (like today - Malayans were known as Indochinese tigers), along with painted dogs, and lions throughout time.
6. Africa is the former site of the zoo's penguin parking lot and secondary entrance
7. Sea lions took over the walrus habitat in 2002.
8. In 1997, the Bird House was renovated and turned into Wings of the World
9. Jungle Trails recently opened in 1993 and displayed a much rarer collection than what they have today.
10. Lemurs were in that exhibit (or area) where the Arctic foxes are.
11. Until 2000, the polar bears didn't have that underwater viewing and upclose exhibit
12. The African Veldt was still current until 1997
13. The Aquarium was demolished and Manatee Springs took its place in 1999.
14. The White Lions of Timbavati was known as the Big Cat Canyon until 2001. At that time it contained white tigers and opened in 1975.
15. The 4-D Theater was still the Ape House but I am not aware of when it closed.
16. Elephant and Camel rides were still around during that time - located near Manatee Springs.
17. The Nocturnal House was still around until 2011.
18. A Giant panda took the place of their Komodo dragons in 1996.... for 6 weeks.
19. Lemur Lookout was home to Ibexes until mid 90's.
 
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